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Revolutionary design, advanced technology, segment-leading features and benchmark safety, this few words describes roughly the all-new Matiz Creative global mini-car developed by GM Daewoo.

The new Daewoo Matiz Creative will go on sale from the start of September in approximately 150 markets around the world including Europe, Asia and North America.

The new Matiz Creative delivers great performance and fuel economy thanks to the newly developed S-TEC II engine – a 4-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC engine with a displacement of 1,000 cc.

The interior of the all-new Matiz Creative is functionality dedicated and the most striking design element is a motorcycle-inspired dynamic meter cluster. The refined interior provides also upgraded functionality with features such as headrests that can be vertically adjusted up to 65 mm, carbon film-heated seats and various storage places.

The Daewoo Matiz Creative will be offered in three trim levels: Pop, Jazz, and Groove

Pop – 7,260 USD
Jazz – 7,560 USD
Groove – 8,035 USD

General Motors today delivered its first hybrid vehicles in the Middle East to the Government of Dubai and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The vehicles, which include the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid and the Chevrolet Malibu hybrid, are part of a ground-breaking project that involves a 12-month trial using the vehicles as public taxis that could eventually lead to one of the largest hybrid fleets in the world.

The trial is the first of its kind in the region and firmly places Dubai among the world’s leading cities in pioneering the use of environmentally-friendly public transportation.

The agreement between the Government of Dubai and GM is a first step in the RTA’s comprehensive plan to make all taxis in Dubai environmentally-friendly, and is in line with their vision to reduce vehicle pollution and ensure a clean environment for future generations.

Terry Johnsson, President of General Motors – Middle East Operations, said “When the Dubai Government decided to investigate the feasibility of alternative propulsion systems in the Middle East, GM moved very quickly to support them. Naturally, we are very pleased to be part of such an historic and important project.”

GM was the first automotive company to approach the Dubai government on this project. The rapid introduction of the Chevrolet hybrids was the result of close cooperation established between GM and the RTA, and included training over 100 personnel, including first responders, in on the operation, safety protocols and maintenance of hybrid vehicles.

The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid offers full-size SUV functionality with lower emissions and 50 per cent better fuel economy in city driving than its gasoline-only sibling. With 21mpg in city driving, the fuel efficiency of the world’s first hybrid full-size SUV is similar to that of much smaller sedans. The Malibu Hybrid – Chevrolet’s first production hybrid car – also delivers lower exhaust emissions as well as the highest fuel economy of any Malibu model.

-New car, powertrain programs to meet the changing needs of U.S. customers
-Chevy Volt production gets the green light from the GM board
-GM builds on car momentum with additional capacity; adjusts truck capacity
-Hummer brand set for strategic review

GM today announced a range of strategic initiatives to aggressively respond to growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and to economic and market challenges in North America. Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO, made the announcements here as part of the GM annual meeting of stockholders.

Major initiatives announced by Wagoner include:

-A new global compact car program for Chevrolet, a next generation for the popular Chevy Aveo, and a high efficiency engine module for the U.S. market.
-Funding for production of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle.
-Addition of third shifts to Lordstown and Orion, which build hot-selling Chevy and Pontiac cars.
-Cessation of production at four plants that build pickups, SUVs and medium-duty trucks.
-A strategic review of the Hummer brand.

“From the start of our North American turnaround plan in 2005, I’ve said that our goal is not just to return GM to profitability, but to structure GM globally for sustained profitability and growth,” said Wagoner.

“Since the first of this year, however, U.S. economic and market conditions have become significantly more difficult,” he said. “Higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and they are significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix.”

In North America, GM has been moving rapidly and successfully to revitalize its car lineup and grow its crossover business. New GM cars and crossovers, including the Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, Pontiac Vibe and Buick Enclave, have been selling strongly, and GM intends to build on this success. In fact, 18 of the next 19 new GM products for the U.S. will be cars or crossovers.

Additional operational and strategic actions will be required to position GM for sustainable profitability and growth. These initiatives fall into three broad areas: product and technology, manufacturing facilities and capacity, and the Hummer brand.

New Chevrolet models and a high-efficiency engine module approved
To further strengthen GM’s lineup of fuel-efficient cars, the GM board has approved a next-generation compact Chevy for the U.S. and global markets, a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo, and a U.S. production module of GM’s 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The new Chevy compact will be better equipped than today’s compact cars, and will be designed to set quality and safety benchmarks for the compact class. Production will begin in mid-2010 at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant, subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities.

“This car will represent the first U.S. application of our global architecture strategy,” said Wagoner. “This strategy will pay major dividends as we leverage our extensive car product development capability in Europe, Korea, and other locations to accelerate the shift in our U.S. product portfolio.”

The next-generation compact will be pure Chevrolet in design, and will feature the 1.4-liter turbocharged version of GM’s global four-cylinder engine. With this engine and a manual transmission, the new Chevy is expected to achieve a 9 mpg improvement over Chevy’s current entry in this segment. The engine will be produced in Flint, Michigan, again subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities.

Also recently approved was a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo. Based on a global architecture, the Aveo is also expected to have segment-leading fuel economy when it goes on sale in the U.S. market in the second half of 2010.

These new Chevy models will help build on GM’s leadership in fuel efficient vehicles. For example, GM continues to offer more vehicles with a 30-mpg or better highway fuel economy rating than any competitor.

Chevy Volt is a go
The Chevy Volt took a major step toward the showroom with formal approval by the GM board of funding for production of the extended-range electric vehicle. This approval, which includes funding for production development and tooling, indicates that GM leadership believes that the technology for the Volt, including its lithium-ion batteries, will be ready for volume production on schedule.

“The Chevy Volt is a go,” said Wagoner. “We believe this is the biggest step yet in our industry’s move away from our historic, virtually complete reliance on petroleum to power vehicles.”

“We intend to show a production version of the Chevy Volt publicly in the very near future, and we remain focused on our target of getting the Volt into Chevrolet showrooms by the end of 2010,” Wagoner said.

Preliminary plans are to produce the Volt at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, subject to successful discussions with state and local governments.

Capacity adjustments address market shifts
GM will react to the shift in the U.S. market by increasing production of small and midsize cars and reducing production of pickups and truck-based SUVs.

GM will add a third shift in September to the Orion Assembly Center in Michigan, which builds the hot-selling Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6. Also in September, the company plans to add a third shift at Lordstown Car Assembly in Ohio, which builds the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5.

On the other side of the mix equation, market-related declines in truck sales mean that, over time, GM will cease production at four truck plants.

Oshawa Truck Assembly in Canada, which builds the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, will likely cease production in 2009, while Moraine, Ohio, which builds the Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x, will end production at the end of the 2010 model run, or sooner, if demand dictates. Janesville, Wisconsin, will cease production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and of the Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon in 2010, or sooner, if market demand dictates. Chevrolet Kodiak medium-duty truck production will also end in Toluca, Mexico, by the end of this year.

GM expects that these actions, along with the recent announcement to remove shifts at two other U.S. truck plants (Pontiac and Flint, Michigan), will result in an additional GM North America structural cost savings of more than $1 billion, on a running rate basis, by 2010. This is on top of the approximately $5 billion running rate reduction by 2011 that we announced earlier this year, and also in addition to the $9 billion reduction accomplished over the 2006-07 period in North America.

GM will work closely with its union partners to mitigate the impact of these difficult actions, which are made necessary by long-term changes in consumer demand for trucks and SUVs.

Strategic assessment for Hummer brand
Finally, GM is undertaking a strategic review of the Hummer brand to determine its fit within the GM portfolio. At this point, the company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.

Moving forward
“We are making a number of important announcements today, covering everything from product and technology investments to capacity adjustments to a strategic review of our Hummer brand,” said Wagoner. “These moves are all in response to the rapid rise in oil prices and the resulting changes in the U.S., changes that we believe are more structural than cyclical.

“While some of the actions, especially the capacity reductions, are very difficult, they are necessary to adjust to changing market and economic conditions and to keep GM’s U.S. turnaround on track and moving forward.”

General Motors Europe will invest a total of €9 billion into Opel through 2012, thus strengthening its core brand. €6.5 billion alone will be spent on the development of new vehicles and propulsion systems. In addition, the company is investing considerably into its German plants, Rüsselsheim, Bochum, Kaiserslautern and Eisenach. This was announced by GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster at a press conference in Rüsselsheim today. Forster also referred to the contracts for the future agreed on yesterday evening with the European employee representatives. These contracts guarantee the European Astra plants production capacity and capacity utilization.

GM Europe will invest €900 million into its new Rüsselsheim plant, which was put into operation in 2002. As of autumn 2008, Rüsselsheim will build a new generation of upper midsize vehicles, starting with the Opel Insignia. Bochum is granted investments worth €650 million to secure the facility’s long-term competitiveness and getting it ready for production of the next-generation Astra. “Opel Bochum has already made a big step forward and is an excellent example of how a long-established plant can regain its competitiveness by means of systematic restructuring and the great commitment of its workforce,” Forster said. Eisenach is granted investments of €240 million. Furthermore, the Kaiserslautern facility will not be sold as previously planned but will be expanded into a center of competence for component manufacturing with an investment of €50 million.

20 new models through 2012, extended-range electric vehicle
Hans H. Demant, Managing Director of Adam Opel GmbH, announced a comprehensive product offensive with 17 new passenger cars and 3 light commercial vehicles through 2012. In addition to the Insignia this autumn and the new Astra, it has also been decided that the next-generation Meriva with its rear-hinged doors (FlexDoor system) will go into production.

As with Insignia, the FlexRide mechatronic chassis system of which helps the car adjust to prevailing driving conditions, Opel is focusing on technical innovation in all vehicle segments, for example with Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL), new chassis functions for great safety in critical situations and with vehicle concepts that offer a high level of flexibility for different uses. For instance, Opel was the first manufacturer to offer the automatically adjusting lighting system also in smaller vehicle segments, such as Corsa and Meriva. “Opel is making the most state-of-the-art safety technology available to the majority of the market. This is an effective contribution to road safety,” Demant said.

In close cooperation with the GM Development Center in Warren, Michigan, U.S.A., the Rüsselsheim engineering teams are working on getting extended-range electric vehicles based on the E-Flex system ready for series production. This system allows a driver to travel 65 kilometers on electric power alone, enough to cover the average distance covered by daily commuters. For longer distances, a combustion engine, that serves merely as a power generator, recharges the electric power unit to achieve the range of usual midsize passenger cars.

Growth strategy for German market
Thomas Owsianski, Executive Director, Sales, Marketing & Aftersales, presented the growth strategy for the German market with which Opel wants to increase its sales volume and market share: In the medium term, Opel in Germany is striving to regain new-car registrations of 400,000 units and a market share of over 10 percent, Owsianski said. Opel new-car buyers in Germany will be granted a six-year warranty at no additional costs.

Under a program called “INNOVATION”, Opel currently offers vehicles in which innovative features such as adaptive forward lighting and dynamic navigation are combined in favorably priced packages. According to Owsianski, innovation will also be at the center of the communication campaign for the launch of the new Opel Insignia, “a car with sophisticated technology and groundbreaking design” that will compete in the upper midsize segment starting this autumn.

Substantial investments into dealer network
In Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin and Wiesbaden, Opel will work together with partner companies to expand dealerships into prestigious brand centers. Opel will spend over €100 million on over 2,000 projects together with the Opel dealers in order to speed up the modernization of the dealerships and achieve a consistent state-of-the-art appearance. In addition to the modernization of showrooms and dealerships, Opel continues to modernize the infrastructure of its dealers and service organizations.